“I was with Ibn Abbas in Arafat and he said: ‘Why do I not hear the people reciting Talbiyah?’ I said: They are afraid of Muawiyah.’ So Ibn Abbas went out of his tent and said: “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik, Labbaik! They are only forsaking the Sunnah out of hatred for Ali.'” ( Nasai 3006 )

On the surface it would sound as if this is an issue of Muawiyah Radhi-yallaahu ‘anhu having stopped people from Talbiyah because of hatred towards Ali Radhi-yallaahu ‘anhu which is of course very problematic as it is involving a sahabi.

What is the explation of this narration so that i and others may correctly understand this?

JazakAllahu Khair.

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Assalāmu ῾alaykum wa Rahmatullāhi Wabarakātu

The hatred of the Shias for Hazrat Muawiyya Radiallahu Anhu is well known. [1]

According to the principle of hadith, a narration by an innovator (Ahle-Bidah) is rejected if his bidah leads to Kufr. If his bidah leads to transgression (Fisq), his narration will be considered if he does not promote his bidah. The narration in reference by Khalid bin Makhlad clearly promotes the Shia belief of hatred for Hazrat Muawiyya Radiallahu Anhu. Therefore, the narration is not acceptable.

Contrary to the hatred expressed in the narration in reference, Hazrat Abdullah Ibn Abbas Radiallahu Anhu had praised Hazrat Muawiyya Radiallahu Anhu. See the following hadiths:

Ibn Abi Mulaika narrates: Hazrat Muawiyya offered one rak`a witr prayer after the `Isha prayer, and at that time a freed slave of Ibn `Abbas was present. He (i.e. the slave) went to Ibn `Abbas (and told him that Muawiyya offered one rak`a witr prayer). Ibn `Abbas said, “Leave him, for he was in the company of Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ).” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3764) ‏

Ibn Abi Mulaika narrates: Somebody said to Ibn `Abbas, “Can you speak to the chief of the believers Muwaiyya, as he does not pray except one rak`a as witr?” Ibn `Abbas replied, “He is a Faqih (i.e. a learned man who can give religious verdicts).” (Sahih al-Bukhari 3765) ‏

mahajjah.com

Amongst the false allegations directed towards Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu is the poisoning of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhu. The claim is made that Ja`dah (the wife of Hassan radiya Llahu ‘anhu) was the one who poisoned him upon the incitement of Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu. This article proves the fallaciousness of this claim, establishing his innocence from the brazen accusations leveled against him.

Question

It has been alleged that either Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu or his son Yazid was involved in the poisoning of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu. It is claimed that one of them persuaded one of Sayyidina Hassan’s radiya Llahu `anhu wives to administer poison to him. What is the truth of this claim?

Answer

Any claim of a historical nature must be substantiated with proof. An accusation made without providing proof is slanderous, and should accordingly be dismissed as such. But even the mere presentation of evidence is not sufficient to prove the claim. There is one very important condition that has to be met, and that is authenticity. The onus rests upon the claimant not only to provide evidence for his claim, but also to authenticate his evidence. For as long as he fails to prove its authenticity his claim is nothing more than an empty and worthless accusation. This is a general rule which applies to all historical claims, and not only those to do with alleged misdeeds of the Sahabah radiya Llahu `anhum. Let us look, for example, at the issue of the “satanic verses” which was so maliciously taken advantage of by the notorious Salman Rushdie. Mr. Rushdie did not suck the incident out of his thumb; he found it in historical books. However, what he failed to do was to authenticate. Why? The reason is obvious. He had his own agenda and his own preconceived notions. Thus when someone accuses Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu or anybody else of poisoning Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu, and does not care to examine the authenticity of the evidence for his accusation for no reason other than the fact that he dislikes Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu, he is no less guilty than Salman Rushdie and his ilk. Let not your enmity for a person become your only motivation for finding him guilty.

And do not ever let enmity for a people carry you away into injustice. Be just; that is closer to piety. And fear Allah. Verily Allah is aware of what you do. (al Ma’idah: 8)

It is authentically narrated that when Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu lay on his deathbed, dying from poisoning, his brother, Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu `anhu came to him and asked him: “Brother, tell me who is the one who poisoned you.” Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu asked: “Why? That you may kill him?” Sayyidina Hussain said: “Yes,” to which Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu responded: “I will not tell you anything. If it is the one I think it is, then Allah’s revenge is harsher. And if it is not he, then by Allah, no innocent person will be killed on account of me.”1 This authentic narration shows that even Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu was not exactly sure of the identity of the poisoner. Over and above that, he refuses to tell his own brother who he suspects. It is strange that Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu himself displayed such great caution in the matter, fearing that he might be accusing an innocent person, but that people today can blurt out, without the blink of an eye, that “Muawiyah poisoned Hassan”. The greatest concern Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu had was the preservation of the ummah’s unity. It was on account of this concern that he made peace with Muawiyah in 41 A.H. It was also this outstanding accomplishment of his which was predicted by his grandfather, Rasulullah salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam, in the well-known hadith:

This son of mine is a Sayyid, and soon the time will come when through him Allah will reconcile two great masses of Muslims.

He had this concern of not causing strife in the ummah, right up to the time of his demise. It was his dearest wish to be buried with his grandfather, Rasulullah salla Llahu `alayhi wa sallam, in the room of Sayyidah `Aisha radiya Llahu `anha, but he instructed Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu `anhunot to resort to violence in the event Banu Umayyah tried to prevent his burial there, and to bury him with his mother in Jannah al Baqi`. Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu was prepared to sacrifice the things nearest and dearest to him in order to preserve the peace and unity of the ummah. Therefore, if it was Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu whom he suspected of having him poisoned he would rather have been expected to tell Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu `anhu something like “I fear that you will cause civil war if you try to revenge yourself upon the one I suspect”. In the fact that he does not allude to the prospect of disunity and sedition at all, but rather expresses fear at an innocent person being killed on account of him, we therefore have reason to see that the one whom Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu suspected of poisoning him was not Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu. Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu lived for ten more years after the passing of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu. In all that time the valiant and fearless Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu `anhu was alive, and so was his brother, Muhammad ibn al Hanafiyyah rahimahu Llah, his cousins `Abdullah ibn Jafar and `Abdullah ibn `Abbas radiya Llahu `anhuma, and numerous other members of the Ahlul Bayt. However, not a single one of them ever confronted Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu on the poisoning of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu. In fact, they maintained cordial relations with him, especially Ibn `Abbas and `Abdullah ibn Jafar radiya Llahu `anhuma. They never uttered a word about Sayyidina Muawiyah’s radiya Llahu `anhu alleged involvement in the death of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu, neither in public nor to their closest followers. This gives us so much more reason to dismiss the allegation against Sayyidina Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu as unfounded. Now let us look at the material in the books of history on the basis of which the allegation is made. The only report in which Muawiyah radiya Llahu `anhu is implicated in the death of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu is narrated by the historian, Muhammad ibn `Umar al Waqidi. This report appears as follows:

[Al Waqidi] says: I heard some people saying that Muawiyah secretly made one of his servants administer poison to him.2

As a report of history, this narration suffers from two fatally serious defects. The first is the universally recognised untrustworthiness of al Waqidi. Details of his unreliability as a narrator would probably fill several pages, but all of it may be suitably condensed into a statement by Imam al Shafi`i, who was his contemporary, and who knew him personally. Al Shafi`i has the following to say:

In Madinah there were seven people who used to forge chains of narration. One of them was al Waqidi.3

The second defect is much more glaring. Note that al Waqidi does not mention the names of his informants, and that he merely says “I heard some people say”. This particular report comes after a number of other reports in which al Waqidi clearly mentions the names of his informants. When he comes to this one, he merely says “I heard some people say”. Is it on the basis of such flimsy evidence that people today are bold enough to level an accusation of murder? Indeed, this smacks of a total disregard for academic integrity for the sake of nothing but personal sentiments and prejudice. There is another report in which the wife of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu, namely Ja`dah bint al Ash`ath, is implicated in his murder by poisoning. This report has it that it was Yazid ibn Muawiyah who set her up to do it, promising to marry her thereafter. This report is narrated by Muhammad ibn Salam al Jumahi. It is reproduced by al Mizzi in Tahdhib al Kamal as follows:

Muhammad ibn Salam al Jumahi narrates on the authority of Ibn Ju`dubah that Ja`dah, the daughter of Ash`ath ibn Qays, was the wife of Hassan ibn `Ali. A message was sent to her in secret by Yazid, telling her: “Poison Hassan and I will be your husband.” So she did it. When Hassan died she sent a message to Yazid asking him to fulfil his pledge. But he told her: “By Allah, we did not approve of you as Hassan’s wife. Shall we approve of you as our own wife?”4

This is the way the report is found in the history books. To the uncritical reader who has no knowledge of the criteria of authenticity and their application, it might well appear to be acceptable evidence. To the one whose emotions have already caused him to be favourably disposed towards Sayyidina Hassan, and unfavourably disposed towards Yazid, it is nothing less than incontrovertible evidence. But the true scholar never lets emotion make his decision for him. He first weighs the evidence, examines it and scrutinises it, and only if it merits approval and acceptance will he accept it. To the discerning scholar, emotions are shaped by evidence and not evidence by emotions. Now we return to the report under discussion. Ibn Ju`dubah, who is Muhammad ibn Salam’s source for this report, is properly known as Yazid ibn `Iyad ibn Ju`dubah. He lived in Madinah during the time of Imam Malik. Imam Malik’s student, `Abdur Rahman ibn al Qasim, once asked his opinion about a person called Ibn Sam`an. The Imam replied: “He is a liar.” Ibn al Qasim then asked: “And Ibn Ju`dubah?” Imam Malik replied: “An even bigger liar, an even bigger liar.”5 All other rijal critics who ever expressed themselves on his status as a narrator have concurred with Imam Malik in some way or the other. Furthermore, Ibn Ju`dubah died in the days of the `Abbasid Khalifah, al Mahdi, whose reign came to an end in 169 A.H. If we assume that that he died in 165 A.H, and that he lived a life of 70 years, we could say he was born in about 95 A.H. In other words, by the time of his birth, almost a half a century had passed after the death of Sayyidina Hassan.

The “Yazid-Ja`dah plot” therefore either came to his knowledge through sources whom he refrains to mention, or it was the product of his own mendacious and fertile imagination. In light of what his contemporaries thought of him (Ahmed ibn Salih al Misri, for example says of him “I think he used to invent hadith for the people.”6) one is inclined to believe that the whole plot was of his own invention. Looking at the times in which he lived — the early `Abbasid period—, we find more reason to believe that the report is a forgery by Ibn Ju`dubah. During the early `Abbasid times sentiments were running high against the recently ousted Umayyads, and a person like the notorious Yazid would have been the perfect scapegoat. To come back now to the alleged involvement of Ja`dah bint Ash`ath: There is one other report which implicates her in the poisoning of Sayyidina Hassan, but it does not mention anything about Yazid.7 It is narrated from Umm Musa, who was a bondswoman of Sayyidina `Ali.8 The chain of narration up to Umm Musa is reliable. However, we might pose a question here with regard to Umm Musa herself: Did she identify Ja`dah as the culprit out of knowledge of her guilt, or must her words here be construed as the emotional outburst of a bereaved woman who simply must find someone to blame for the cause of her bereavement? We do not pose this question out of unnecessary scepticism. There are two things which prompt us to ask it: Firstly, Sayyidina Hassan’s radiya Llahu `anhu own reluctance to name the person he suspected. Keep in mind also that he himself merely suspected, and did not know it for a fact. Secondly, if there were reasonable grounds for suspecting Ja`dah bint Ash`ath, no man would readily marry her, especially a man of the Ahlul Bayt. But with Ja`dah we find that after the demise of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu she was married by his father’s cousin Sayyidina `Abdullah ibn `Abbas radiya Llahu `anhu, and that she bore him a son, Muhammad, and a daughter, Quraybah.9 From the above discussion we may then draw the following conclusions:

The report implicating Yazid and Ja`dah are narrated by a known liar— Ibn Ju`dubah— who was born almost 50 years after the incident and names no sources at all. His report comes into circulation during the early `Abbasid period in which anti-Umayyad sentiments, and more particularly anti-Yazid sentiments, are common.

The report from Umm Musa which implicates Ja`dah is more likely the emotional outburst of a bereaved woman than an allegation based on factual knowledge.

Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu himself refused to disclose the identity of the one he suspected. He restrained his brother Sayyidina Hussain radiya Llahu `anhu from taking any action.

After the death of Sayyidina Hassan radiya Llahu `anhu the Ahlul Bayt maintained good relations with Muawiyah in Damascus.

In light of the above we fully endorse the statement by Ibn Kathir that none of these reports are authentic.10 We hope that this demonstration — of how the words of a bereaved woman, a report by unknown reporters, and a forgery by a known liar came to be regarded as factual history — will bring to light the need of critically examining historical sources before levelling accusations against anybody.

Spending on the family on ʿĀshūrā

Question

What is the status of the narration that suggests that a person should generously spend on the family on ʿĀshūrā? Please clarify because people who do not believe in this are criticised whilst people who believe in this are accused of innovation.

The narration is weak – Our respected teacher Muḥaddith al-ʿAṣr Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī was requested by his teacher Shaykh al-Ḥadīth al-Mujaddid Mawlānā Muḥammad Zakariyyā Kandhelwī (d. 1402 H.) to research this narration. Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus concludes, “The truth according to me is that the narration is Maʿlūl (defective) with all its chains. And the chain that ʿIrāqī claimed is in accordance with the condition of (Imām) Muslim and he was followed in this view by Sakhāwī, Suyūṭī and al-Qārī is defective. Ibn Ḥajar has explicitly mentioned it is Munkar (unknown) in Lisān al-Mīzān.[22] The better chain according to me is what Bayhaqī has transmitted via Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh through his chain from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (May Allah be pleased with him). However, that is also Maʿlūl (defective) due to the unidentified person (in the chain). Thus, the highest condition of this narration is that it is weak”.[23]

Imām Bayhaqī (d. 458 H.) writes that the chains of this narration are all weak but when combined they provide some strength[24], a view that is shared by Ḥāfiẓ Mundhirī (d. 656 H.)[25] and Qāḍī Shawkānī (d. 1250 H.)[26]. Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (d. 852 H.) is also of the view that the Ḥadīth is not fabricated.[27] ʿAllāmah Haythamī (d. 807 H.) appears to be of the view that the narration is extremely weak.[28]

Thus, there is a difference of opinion among scholars regarding the status of this narration. The preferred view is that of our teacher Muḥaddith al-ʿAṣr Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī that the narration is weak. However, it is permissible to act upon weak narrations subject to certain conditions without overemphasising it.[40]

However, one should avoid overemphasising this practice and regarding it necessary, as mentioned by the Mālikī scholars Imām Ibn al-Ḥāj (d. 737 H.), Imām Shāṭibī (d. 790 H.), Imām Ḥaṭṭāb (d. 954 H.), Imām Kharashī (d. 1101 H.) and others. Imām Ibn al-Ḥāj states that generosity on the family, relatives, orphans, poor and increasing expenditure and charity on ʿĀshūrā is recommended provided there is no Takalluf (pretentiousness) and it does not become a practice that is regarded as necessary, otherwise it will be disliked.[59]

Thus, one should not criticise those who do not act upon this narration or do not believe in its authenticity. Similarly, those who believe in the validity of the narration and act upon it should not be criticised. It is necessary to maintain appropriate etiquette because both views are held by great scholars and luminaries, to whom we shall remain indebted forever.

[29] Minhāj al-Sunnah (7: 39); Laṭāʼif al-Maʿārif (p. 54); al-Manār al-Munīf (p. 111). It is worth noting that Shaykh ʿAbd al-Fattāh Abū Ghuddah (d. 1417 H.) has refuted those who suggest that the term “Lā Yaṣiḥḥ” (It is not ṣaḥīḥ) indicates that according to Imām Aḥmad the narration is weak. This is incorrect because this term refers to fabricated narrations when cited in books that specialise in fabricated and weak narrations. For further details, refer to Shaykh ʿAbd al-Fattāh’s footnotes of al-Manār al-Mūnīf (p. 112) and his introduction to Mullā ʿAlī al-Qārī’s al-Maṣnūʿ Fī Maʿrifah al-Ḥadīth al-Mawḍūʿ (p. 27) where he has discussed this issue in detail. Our teacher Shaykh Muḥammad Yūnus Jownpūrī concurs and adds that Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyah has attributed the words “Lā Aṣla Lahū” (it has no basis) to Imām Aḥmad. Thus, there is no doubt that according to Imām Aḥmad, this narration is fabricated.

[59] Al-Madkhal (1: 289). Also see Mawāhib al-Jalīl (2: 403) and Sharḥ Mukhtaṣar Khalīl Li al-Kharashī (2: 241). Imām Shāṭibī (d. 790 H.) writes in al-Iʿtiṣām (1: 450): “Saʿīd ibn Ḥassān said: “I was reading to Ibn Nāfiʿ, and when I passed the narration of expanding (wealth on ʿĀshūrā), he said to me: Burn it. I asked, why O Abū Muḥammad? He said: In fear of it being adopted as a Sunnah”. Imām Shāṭibī writes, “So these matters are permissible or recommended. However, they disliked practising it for fear of innovation, because adopting it as a Sunnah is through people practising it constantly and emphasising it.”

Q. I would like to know if it is permissible to marry in the month of muharram/safar as i am planning a nikah in the month of December in which Muharam/Safar does fall, i have been told that it is not permissible to marry in those months, please could u clarify this for me as soon as possible by replying to my email.

(There may be grammatical and spelling errors in the above question. Questions are published as received)

A.It is permissible to marry in the month of Muharram, Safar or any other Islamic month of the year. There is no prohibition recorded in the Qur’an or Hadith with regards to marrying in any particular month. In fact, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has strongly condemned the misconception that certain months hold bad luck. It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (Radiyallahu Anhu) that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:

(In Islam) There is no such thing as contagion*, bad omens, superstition and bad luck in Safar. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith #: 5425)

To believe that the Month of Safar is inauspicious, and particularly to believe that its first thirteen days are ‘bad luck’ or that it is harmful to marry or propose to marry or undertake a journey, etc., during these days are beliefs which are against the teachings of Islam.

In pre-Islamic days people considered the Month of Safar to be evil and ominous. Rasoolullah Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam strongly rejected such beliefs and ideas. The truth is that no time, day, month or date is in itself evil, but the deeds of people are either good or bad. The time spent in the performance of good deeds will be auspicious and the time spent in sin and the disobedience of Allah Ta’ala will be evil and ominous.

The Month of Safar is not ominous. Evil deeds and incorrect beliefs are ominous and should be given up and repented for. It is incorrect to postpone or delay marriage or its proposal or a journey, etc. because of such beliefs.

Rejecting the false beliefs of the days of ignorance Rasoolullah Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam said, ‘Belief in ill-omen is Shirk (polytheistic) (he said this thrice) and the owl’s ominousness is nothing.’ The Mushriks of Arabia used to believe that a house near which an owl screeches will be ruined, hence, Rasoolullah Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam refuted this belief as false. Thereafter, he said, ‘There is nothing ominous about the Month of Safar’. (Bukhari vol.1 pg.857)

The polytheists believed the Month of Safar up to the 13th day to be inauspicious, hence, Rasoolullah Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam rejected this superstition. It is therefore wrong for Muslims, who are the followers of Rasoolullah Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam, to adopt the ways of the non-Muslims and to entertain the very beliefs which he had come to change.

May Allah Ta’ala grant all Muslims the ability to accept and practice upon all the beautiful teachings of Rasoolullah Sallallaahu Alaihi Wasallam, Aameen.

Source: Fataawa Raheemia

* It should be noted that it is not permissible to hold the belief that a disease or sickness is contagious by itself. Rather, one should have the belief that one can contract a disease or sickness only by the will of Allah and by being in close proximity or in contact with a sick person, it may be a means of contracting the sickness by the will of Allah. If Allah does not will for a person to contract a disease or illness, he will not contract the disease or illness, regardless of him being in close proximity or contact with the sick person.

Salaam Mufti: I wanted to ask about Shias and Muawiya/Ali (Radiyallahoanhum to both). Many Shias say that Muawiya (RA) and his successors cursed Ali during Jummah khutbah for years. Is this true, because I can find no legitimate source of this other than Shia propaganda? Also, why do Shias have such words for Muawiya (RA) when I see nothing that he truly did wrong? What benefit do the Shia have to bad-mouth Muawiya (RA)? Jazakallah

(question posted as received)

Answer:

Foreword by Muftῑ Ebrahim Desai (Ḥafidhahullah)

A loyal child is ultra-sensitive to the dignity of his father. If his father becomes a victim of undue humiliation, he would stand up to the occasion to defend the dignity and honour of his father.

We are the spiritual children of the great and illustrious Ṣaḥābah of Rasullullah Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam. We are aware of their great sacrifices for Dῑn. They earned and own an honourable position in Islām.

Every year, during the occasion of ‘Āshura and in general, the honourable Sahabah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhum are vilified. On this occasion, in context of the incident of Karbalah, the personality of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu is the greatest target of attack.

There was a great need to highlight the great and illustrious personality of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and inculcate within us an admiration and reverence for him.

Moulānā Mu’ādh Chati is a student of the Dārul Iftaa. Allah has blessed him with great talents. He received a question on Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and the Shῑ’ahs. In his response, he translated Moulānā Maḥmūd Ashraf’s book on the subject from Urdu. The work extensively highlights the many aspects of the life of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

I urge you to read this booklet on this occasion and circulate it as much as possible.

May Allah accept the efforts of Moulana Mu’ādh. May the Ummah benefit from his knowledge and efforts. Ameen.

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

The Shῑ’ah sect/cult are well-known for their hatred for Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and the Ṣaḥābah in general.

All the accusations hurled at Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu are either baseless or purposefully manipulated.

As for the claim that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu used to curse Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu during his sermons (Khutbahs), we will analyse this in detail.

Ḥadhrat Muftῑ Taqῑ Uthmānῑ Ṣāḥib (Dāmat Barakātuhum) has written a book in the Urdu language titled:

“When the news of [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]’s death reached [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], he began to cry. So his wife said to him “are you crying for him even though you went to war against him?” He replied “Indeed you do not know what the people have lost in virtue, Fiqh and knowledge [through Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s passing]”[2]

“It has reached us through many chains of narration that Abū Muslim Al Khawlānῑ and a group of people with him came to [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and asked him “you are dissenting with [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], [do you believe] you are equivalent to him in stature?” He (Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) replied “I swear by Allah! Surely I know that he is superior, more virtuous and more worthy of leadership than me, however, do you not know that [Ḥadhrat] ‘Uthmān [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] was unjustly killed? And I am his cousin brother, I would like retribution for his blood and this is my right. So [go to Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and] tell him “hand over the killers of [Hadhrat] ‘Uthmān [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and I shall leave the caliphate for him””. The group then went to [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and talked to him regarding what had transpired, however, [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] did not hand over the killers to him (due to the precarious position that he was in). At this point, the people [of Shām] prepared to join [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] in war”[4]

4) ‘Allāmah Ibn Al Athῑr Raḥimahullah (d.630 AH) has narrated the final sermon (Khutbah) of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, in which he said:

“[Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] would write down issues that would occur in order to consult [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ ibn Abῑ Ṭālib [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] regarding them, so when the news of his (Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s) death reached him (Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu), he said “Fiqh and knowledge have gone through the death of Ibn Abῑ Ṭālib (Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu)”[5]

In fact, there was mutual respect between Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

1) Isḥāq ibn Rāhwayh Raḥimahullah narrates the following incident through a chain of narration:

“On the day of the Battle of the camel and the day of the Battle of Ṣiffῑn, [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] heard a man speak harshly regarding the opposition, he [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] responded: “do not say anything except good, indeed they are people who feel that we have rebelled against them and we feel that they have rebelled against us, and for this reason we have gone to war against them”[6]

2) Ḥāfidh Ibn Kathῑr Raḥimahullah (d.774 AH) reports that when Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu returned from the Battle of Ṣiffῑn, he said:

“Oh people! Do not disapprove of the governance of [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] because indeed if you lose him, you will see heads roll off their shoulders as though they are colocynths falling off trees”[7]

At this juncture, we feel that it is important to clarify a narration found in the books of Ḥadῑth.

‘Āmir ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqās narrates on the authority of his father:

“[Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah ibn Abῑ Sufyān [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] appointed Sa’d as a governor and said: “What prevents you from insulting Abū Turāb (Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu)?” He (Ḥadhrat Sa’d Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) said: It is because of three things which I remember Allah’s Messenger Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam to have said about him that I would not insult him and even if I find one of those three things for me, it would be more dear to me than red camels. I heard Allah’s Messenger Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam speak regarding [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] when he left him behind in one of his campaigns. [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] said to him: “Oh Allah’s Messenger, you leave me behind along with women and children?”. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam said to him: “Aren’t you satisfied with being unto me what Harūn was unto Mūsā but with the exception that there is no Prophethood after me”. And I (also) heard him say on the Day of Khaibar: “I will certainly give this standard to a person who loves Allah and His Messenger, and Allah and His Messenger love him too”. He (the narrator) said: “We had been anxiously waiting for it, when he (the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam) said: “Call [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]”. He was called and his eyes were inflamed. He (Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam) applied saliva to his eyes and handed over the standard to him, and Allah gave him victory. (The third occasion is) when the (following) verse was revealed: “Let us summon our children and your children.” Allah’s Messenger Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam called [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], [Ḥadhrat] Fāṭima [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], [Ḥadhrat] Ḥasan [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and [Ḥadhrat] Ḥusain [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and said: “O Allah, they are my family.””[8]

3) The word “سب” does not mean ‘to insult’, rather, it means ‘to rebuke’. An example of this may be seen in the following Ḥadῑth wherein the word “سب” has been attributed to the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, Ḥadhrat Mu’ādh ibn Jabal Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu states that during the Battle of Tabūk, the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam said:

“If Allah wills, you shall reach by tomorrow the fountain of Tabūk and you should not come to it until it is dawn, and he who happens to go there from amongst you should not touch its water until I come”

“We came to it (the fountain) and two persons (from amongst us) reached the fountain ahead of us. It was a thin flow of water like the shoelace with a small amount of water coming out. Allah’s Messenger Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam asked them whether they had touched the water, they said “yes”. Allah’s Messenger Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam rebuked them, and he said to them what he had to say by the will of Allah”[10]

Finally, in analysing this accusation made by the Shῑ’āhs, Ḥāfidh Ibn Taymiyyah Raḥimahullah states in Minhāj Al Sunnah Al Nabawiyyah:

“It is surprising that the Shῑ’āhs disapprove of cursing [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] while they curse [Ḥadhrat] Abū Bakr [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], [Ḥadhrat] ‘Umar [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and [Ḥadhrat] ‘Uthmān [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and also label them as disbelievers”[11]

In the final part of Ḥadhrat Muftῑ Taqῑ Uthmānῑ Ṣāḥib (Dāmat Barakātuhum)’s book, a short treatise has been written by Moulānā Maḥmūd Ashraf Uthmānῑ Ṣāḥib (Dāmat Barakātuhum) titled:

حضرت معاویہ شخصیت کردار اور کارنامے

“Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], his Personality, his Character and his Accolades”

This treatise was written upon the request of Ḥadhrat Muftῑ Taqῑ Uthmānῑ Ṣāḥib (Dāmat Barakātuhum) who states that he has reviewed the treatise and found it to be a very-well prepared and thorough research.

We have translated this section and present it here.

Moulānā Maḥmūd Ashraf Uthmānῑ Ṣāḥib (Dāmat Barakātuhum) writes:

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, his Personality, his Character and his Accolades

The illustrious Ṣaḥābῑ, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, is from amongst those few invaluable individuals from the history of Islām who the Muslim nation can never repay for their favours. He was from amongst the few elderly companions of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam who were granted the honour of constantly being in the companionship of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam as well as the honour of writing the revelations that he received from Allah Ta’āla.[12]

He is an undermined personality in Islām whose good qualities, personal rectitude and accolades have not only been ignored, but an active effort has been made to hide them. Baseless accusations have been hurled at Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and he has been accused of doing things which even a pious person would not do, let alone a Ṣaḥābῑ.

It is due to this intense propaganda that has been launched against Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu that the eyes of the people have been blinded from his amazing character and personality which were developed through a companionship with the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam. The result is that people now only associate Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu with the Battle of Ṣiffῑn, which was fought against Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

As for the fact that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was a great Ṣaḥābῑ of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, that he diligently fulfilled the delicate task of writing down the divine revelation, that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam made many supplications (du’ās) for him, that a scrupulous individual such as Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu recognised his calibre, that he was the first individual to prepare an expedition across water in the history of Islām, that he spent a great period of his life carrying out a noble war (Jihād) against the Byzantine Christians and humiliated them in each campaign; today the world has forgotten these facts.

Yes, people today do know that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had a war with Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, but who conquered Cyprus, Rhodes, Sicily and Sudan? After years of inner turmoil, who bought the Muslim nation back under one flag? The obligation of a noble war (Jihād) which had almost become extinct, who bought it back to life? And who, during his governance, became a great example of displaying bravery, persistence, knowledge, action, honesty and reliability in the face of new situations? All of these things have become hidden in the far-fetching web of propaganda that has been spread against Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

The purpose of this treatise is to bring forward the supreme feats achieved by Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. This treatise does not cover his entire lifetime’s accolades, rather, it is those selected moments of his life which have been embedded into history in such a way that they have become invisible to the eyes of the people. By studying these selected moments of his life, one will be able to picture Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in a manner that will suffice for all times.

I hope that by studying this treatise, the reader will be able to briefly see who this illustrious personality was from the history of Islām.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Early Life

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was from the popular and famous tribe of Quraish, which was a tribe known throughout the entire ‘Arab world for its honour, acceptance, generosity and altruism. This tribe had the honour of being the tribe to which the leader of the two worlds, the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, was born.

From amongst the families of the tribe of Quraish, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was from the family of Banū Umayyah, which was considered the most respected family after the family of Banū Hāshim.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s father, Ḥadharat Abū Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, was a respected member of his family and a renowned leader of his tribe before accepting Islām.[13] Ḥadharat Abū Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu accepted Islām during the conquest of Makah and upon his acceptance of Islām, the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam expressed great happiness and announced:

مَنْ دَخَلَ دَارَ أَبِيْ سُفْيَانَ فَهُوَ آمِنٌ

“Whosoever enters the house of Abū Sufyān shall be granted amnesty”[14]

Even before accepting Islām, Ḥadharat Abū Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had great personal qualities and an honourable character.

Ḥāfidh Ibn Kathῑr Raḥimahullah (d.774 AH) writes:

وَكَانَ رَئِيْسًا مُطَاعًا ذَا مَالٍ جَزِيْلٍ

“He was a leader [of his people] whose command would be obeyed and who was considered from amongst the wealthy people”[15]

After accepting Islām, Ḥadharat Abū Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu remained in the company of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam and participated in the Battle of Ḥunayn and the Battle of Yarmūk until he passed away in the 31styear after Hijrah.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was born 5 years after the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam was granted Prophethood. From a young age, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was a determined and empowered individual. In fact, when Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was 9 years of age, Ḥadharat Abū Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu looked at him and said:

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s parents gave Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu a special upbringing and taught him knowledge of various fields. At a time when the ‘Arabs were overshadowed with ignorance, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was considered one of those few individuals who had knowledge of various fields as well as an ability to teach and write.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s accepting of Islām

Officially, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu accepted Islām during the conquest of Makah. In reality, however, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had accepted Islām well before the conquest of Makah, but due to difficulties that would have been imposed on him, he was unable to openly express his acceptance of Islām.

The famous historian, Al Wāqidῑ (d.207 AH), writes that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had accepted Islām after the agreement of Ḥudaybiyyah, however, he kept his acceptance of Islām hidden and only expressed it on the day that Makah was conquered. [18]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu himself mentions as to why he kept his acceptance of Islam hidden until the day that Makah was conquered.

“I had accepted Islam before the ‘Umratul Qadhā’, however, I feared leaving for Madinah as my mother would tell me “if you go, then we will stop providing you with your basic necessities””. Due to this and many other reasons, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu only expressed his acceptance of Islam, along with his father, on the day that Makah was conquered.””[19]

It is for this reason that we see that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu did not participate in the Battle of Badr, the Battle of Uḥud, the Battle of the trenches or the Battle of Ḥudaybiyyah on the side of the non-Muslims. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu did not participate in these battles even though Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was a teenager at the time and his father was the leader of the non-Muslims. In fact, teenagers of similar age to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu participated in opposition to the Muslims. In consideration of all these factors, it is apparent that the truthfulness of Islām was embedded in the heart of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu from a young age.

After accepting Islām, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu remained in the service of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam and was the cornerstone of a special group of people who were assigned to write the divine revelation. This group would write down whatever was revealed upon the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam and would also write the various letters that would be sent from the court of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam.

It was due to his post of writing the divine revelation that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was given the title:

We do not need to discuss how the delicate responsibility of writing the divine revelation required one to be incredibly dexterous, reliable, trustworthy, knowledgeable and of deep understanding.

Due to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s continuous service of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, his reliability, his trustworthiness and other praiseworthy qualities that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam madedu’ā for Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu on many occassions.

In the famous book of Hadith, Sunan Al Tirmidhi, it is recorded that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam made the following du’ā for Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu:

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْهُ هَادِيًا مَّهْدِيًّا وَاهْدِ بِهِ

“Oh Allah! Make him (Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) a person who guides and is guided, and guide others through him”[21]

In another narration, the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam made the following du’ā:

“Oh Allah! Teach him (Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) the book (the Qur’an) and grant him a place to live in the various cities and save him from punishment”[23]

It is apparent from the above Ḥadith that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam had prophesised and made du’ā that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would one day become a leader and caliph.

Hence, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu himself narrates that he once took some water for wudhu to the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam. The Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam performed wudhu with the water and then looked at me and said:

يَا مُعَاوِيَةَ إِنْ وُلِّيْتَ أَمْرًا فَاتَّقِ اللهَ وَاعْدِلْ

“Oh Mu’āwiyah! If you are ever delegated to lead, then fear Allah and be just”

Some narrations mention that after this, the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam said:

“Whosoever does good, pay attention to him and show mercy to him, and whosoever does evil, forgive him”[24]

“After listening to this statement of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, I felt that I would certainly be tested with this responsibility [of leadership], and so that is what happened; (I was made a leader)”[25]

From these narrations, we may discern the status that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had in the eyes of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam and the amount of love that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam had for Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

In one narration it is mentioned that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam called Ḥadhrat Abū Bakr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Hadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallahu Anhu for consulation in a matter. However, both individuals were unable to give an opinion, so the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam said:

In another narration it is mentioned that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam was sitting on his animal and Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was sitting behind the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam. After a while, the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam said:

Hence, after accepting Islām, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu participated in various battles with the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam and fought a noble war (Jihād) against the disbelievers.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu participated in the Battle of Ḥunayn and the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam gave Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu 100 camels and 8 kilograms of silver from the booty gained from the tribe of Hawāzin.[29]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in the Eyes of the Ṣaḥābah

From the above Ahadith we have established the close bond that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam had with Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and we have understood the clear virtues of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

Apart from this, there are many statements recorded from the illustrious Ṣaḥābah which indicate towards the high status that the Ṣaḥābah gave to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

“Do not criticise this young man from the Quraish, [whose forbearance is such that] he laughs when he is angry, [who is such that] whatever he has cannot be attained except by pleasing him, [who is such that] if you wish to attain that which is on his head, then you would have to lower yourself down to his feet”[30]

“You [the people] praise the tactical wit of Caesar and Khosroes, even though you have [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’] amongst you!”[33]

One can also discern the stature that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had in the eyes of Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu by the fact that after the demise of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s brother, Ḥadhrat Yazῑd ibn Abῑ Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu appointed Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu as the governor of Shām.[34]

The world knows that Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was extremely cautious in appointing his governors, such that he would not appoint an individual as a governor until he had gained complete satisfaction that the individual was the most suitable candidate. After this, Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would remain watchful over this individual and would remove him if he felt that he was not fulfilling his responsibilities diligently. Hence, the fact that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu remained the governor of Shām until Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s demise shows that Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had complete reliance upon Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

After the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu came the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu also had complete reliance upon Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and would consult Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in all of the important matters that came before him. Not only did Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu maintain Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s position as the governor of Shām, he also appointed him as the governor of the areas surrounding Shām including Jordan, Homs, Qinnasrin and Palestine.

After this, Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was martyred and the people took a pledge of allegiance upon the hands of Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. It was during the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu that a difference of opinion occurred between Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu over the retribution for the killers of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. This difference of opinion led to a war (Battle of Ṣiffῑn) between the two and became a cause of disunity between the Muslims. However, as any intellectual would know, both parties of this war had a common purpose; to protect and elevate the religion of Islām. For this reason, neither party was afraid to admit the religious standing and personal accolades of the other party.

Ḥāfidh Ibn Kathῑr Raḥimahullah reports that when Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu returned from the Battle of Ṣiffῑn, he said:

“Oh people! Do not disapprove of the governance of [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] because indeed if you lose him, you will see heads roll of their shoulders as though they are colocynths falling of trees”[35]

Let us now look at the Ṣaḥābah other than the four caliphs, and inspect the status that they gave to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

“He (Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) is correct my son, there is none from amongst us more knowledgable than [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]”[37]

From the above, the recognition that Ḥadhrat Ibn ‘Abbās Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu gave to the knowledge and jurisprudential abilities of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu is apparent. This was Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s qualities in respect of religion. In terms of character, Ḥadhrat Ibn ‘Abbās Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu states:

مَا رَأَيْتُ رَجُلًا كَانَ أَخْلَقَ بِالْمِلْكِ مِنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ

“I have not seen anyone more worthy of being a leader than [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]”[38]

The statement of Ḥadhrat ‘Umayr ibn Sa’d Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu has been recorded in the famous books of Ḥadith including Sunan Al Tirmidhῑ that Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu ‘removed Ḥadhrat ‘Umayr ibn Sa’d Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu ‘from the governance of Homs and replaced him with Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Some people expressed their displeasure at this decision, to which Ḥadhrat ‘Umayr ibn Sa’d Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu responded by stating:

“Do not mention [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] except with goodness for surely I have the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam say “Oh Allah! Make him (Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) a means of guidance””[39]

Ḥadhrat Ibn ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu said:

“I have not seen anyone more worthy of leadership than [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]”

Ḥadhrat Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqās Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, who was one of the ten Ṣaḥābah that were granted the glad tiding of Jannah in this world and who remained impartial during the war between Ḥadhrat ‘Ali Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, used to say:

“I have not seen a person with more forbearance, more worthiness of leadership, more dignity, more soft-heartedness or more rigorousness in good deeds than [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]”[41]

From these few incidents, one can see how highly the Ṣaḥābah viewed Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in the Eyes of the Tabi’ūn

How did the Tabi’ūn (the companions of the Ṣaḥābah) view Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu? One may gleam at the answer to this by considering that during his caliphate, ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil Azῑz Raḥimahullah did not whip anyone with lashes except an individual who insulted Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.[42]

The questioner purposefully compared a Ṣaḥābῑ who has been wrongly accused of many things with a greatly respected Tabi’ῑ’ whose high stature is acknowledged by the entire Ummah. So, upon hearing this question, ‘Abdullah ibn Al Mubārak (d.181 AH) became infuriated and said:

“You are asking me to compare between these two people?! I swear by Allah! The dust that went into Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s nose whilst the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam performed the noble war (Jihād) is more virtuous than ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil Aziz”

A similar question was asked of Ma’āfῑ ibn ‘Imrān (d.185 AH) who also became infuriated and said:

“How can a Tabi’ῑ’ ever be equal to a Ṣaḥābi? Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu is the companion of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, his sister was married to the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, he wrote down and protected the divine revelation, so how can a Tabi’ῑ’ reach his status?”

After this, Ma’āfῑ ibn ‘Imrān (d.185 AH) narrated the following Ḥadith of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam in which the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam said:

Aḥnaf ibn Qays (d.72 AH) was a famous Tabi’ῑ’; known amongst the Arabs for his great forbearance. He was once asked:

“Who had more forbearance? You or Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu?”

Aḥnaf ibn Qays (d.72 AH) replied:

“I swear by Allah, I have never met a person more ignorant than you, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had forbearance and had the capability [of acting upon his forbearance], and I have forbearance yet do not have the capability [of acting upon my forbearance]. So how can I be considered better than him? Or equal to him?”

Biography of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu

As we have discussed earlier, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was born five years before the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam was ganted Prophethood. He announced his acceptance of Islām on the day of the conquest of Makah. After the demise of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu remain engaged in performing the noble war (Jihād) in Shām and its surroundings.

It was during this period that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu participated in the Battle of Yamāmah. It is the view of some historians that it was Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu who dealt the final blow to Musaylamah Al Kathāb (Musaylamah the liar). However, the correct view is that it was Ḥadhrat Waḥshi Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu who threw a spear at Musaylamah and killed, whilst Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and others assisted in the killing.[45]

Then, during the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, in the 19th year after the Hijrah, Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu commanded Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s brother, Ḥadhrat Yazid ibn Abi Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, who was the governor of Shām at the time, to conquer the land of Caesarea. Caesarea was a famous city of the Byzantine Empire and was a command base for the troops of the Byzantine Empire.

Ḥadhrat Yazid ibn Abi Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu besieged the city of Caesarea, however, due to the lengthy period of the siege, he left Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in charge of the Muslim army and went to Damascus. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu maintained the siege of Caesarea and in Shawwāl of the 19th year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu conquered the city of Caesarea.

Sadly, in Dhul Qa’dah of the 19th year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat Yazid ibn Abi Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu passed away in a plague. Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was extremely saddened by his demise and after a short while, he appointed Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu as the governor of Shām.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu used to receive 1000 dirhams a month as a governor and served this post for four years during the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu until Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s demise.[46]

After the passing of Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was made the caliph of the Muslims. Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu maintained Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s post as the governor of Shām and also appointed him as the governor of the new surrounding lands that had been conquered by the Muslims.[47]

During the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu served as a governor of Shām for approximately 12 years and during this period, he continued his campaigns in propagating the religion of Islam through the noble war (Jihād).[48]

In the 25th year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu took up a noble war (Jihād) against the Byzantine Empire and reached the land of Amorium with the Muslim army whilst making army bases along the way.[49]

Cyprus was an extremely valuable and beautiful province of the Byzantine Empire close to Shām. It was the only gateway to conquering Shām and Miṣr from Europe, thus Cyprus was an important place as Shām and Miṣr, which were now completely under Muslim control, could not be protected until a voyage were to be taken to conquer this land. It was for this reason that during the caliphate Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had his eyes set upon this beautiful and important island. He had asked Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu on many occasions to give him permission to take a voyage and conquer Cyprus. Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, understanding the difficulties associated with sea travel and due to other strategic reasons, did not give Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu the permission to conquer Cyprus.

However, when Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu became the caliph, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu sought permission to conquer the land of Cyprus, Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu granted him permission to do so. So, in the 27th year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu prepared the first ever Muslim army to travel across water in order to carry out a noble war (Jihād).[50]

This was the first occasion in the history of the Islām in which a voyage was performed with the intention of carrying out a noble war.

Allāmah Ibn Khaldūn Raḥimahullah (d.808 AH) writes:

“Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was the first caliph to prepare the Muslims for a voyage with the intention of carrying out a noble war (Jihād)”.[51]

By being the first individual to prepare a voyage with the intention of carrying out a noble war (Jihād), Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu not only achieved an incredible personal feat, he also became the recipient of a great honour given by the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam to the first army to cross water with the intention of carrying out a noble war (Jihād), which was that such an army would enter paradise.[52]

Hence, Imām Bukhārῑ (d.256 AH) has narrated the following Ḥadῑth of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam:

أَوَّلُ جَيْشٍ مِّنْ أُمَّتِيْ يَغْزُوْنَ الْبَحْرَ قَدْ أَوْجَبُوْا

“The first army from my nation to cross water in order to carry out a noble war (Jihād) have certainly made paradise compulsory upon themselves”

In the 27th year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu departed to conquer Cyprus and in the 28th year after Hijrah, he successfully conquered the land of Cyprus and implemented the tax (jizyah) upon its people.[53]

In the 33rd year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu conquered Afrantinah, Multiyyah and some of the various fortresses of the Byzantine Empire.[54]

In the 35th year after Hijrah, the war of thu kashab (غزوة ذي خشب) occurred in which Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu participated as the commander of the Muslims.

In the 36th year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was martyred. After this, the well-known battles, the Battle of Ṣiffῑn and the Battle of the Camel occurred.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was of the view that Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had been murdered unjustly and thus demanded that no leniency be shown in exacting retribution from the killers of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. He disagreed that the killers of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu be shown leniency or take in any part in the issue of the caliphate.

Accordingly, an incident mentioned by Ḥāfidh Ibn Kathῑr Raḥimahullah (d.774 AH) in Al Bidāyah Wal Nihāyah clearly shows Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s reasons for dissenting with Ḥadhrat ‘Ali Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and puts an end to the false rumours that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s actions were a result of a desire to rule.

“It has reached us through many chains of narration that Abū Muslim Al Khawlānῑ and a group of people with him came to [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and asked him “you are dissenting with [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], [do you believe] you are equivalent to him in stature?” He (Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) replied “I swear by Allah! Surely I know that he is superior, more virtuous and more worthy of leadership than me, however, do you not know that [Ḥadhrat] ‘Uthmān [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] was unjustly killed? And I am his cousin brother, I would like retribution for his blood and this is my right. So [go to Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and] tell him “hand over the killers of [Ḥadhrat] ‘Uthmān [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and I shall leave the caliphate for him””. The group then went to [Ḥadhrat] ‘Ali [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and talked to him regarding hat had occurred, however, [Ḥadhrat] ‘Alῑ [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]did not hand over the killers to him (due to the precarious position that he was in). At this point, the people [of Shām] prepared to join [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] in war”[55]

After the above mentioned incident, how can there be any basis to the claims that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s actions were based on a desire to rule?

One may also understand the reality of the situation by reading a letter that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu wrote to the Byzantine Emperor. The Byzantine Emperor wanted to take advantage of the discord that had occurred between Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu as he had seen that the dispute would soon lead to a war, he therefore positioned his army on the borders of Shām in order to prepare for an attack on Shām. Upon discovering this, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu wrote a letter to the Emperor, the letter reads:

“If what I have learnt that you have positioned your army in preparation for war is true, [then remember!] If you do this, I shall make peace with my companion (Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu) and I shall be at the forefront of his army that shall be sent against you and I shall turn Constantinople into a foul black ember”[56]

When this letter reached the Byzantine Emperor, he held back his army and aborted his plans as he knew that these people are a united body in their war against disbelief and that their dispute is not one based on political leadership.

Nevertheless, this unfortunate war between Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu took place. In truth, the real perpetrators of the war were those corrupt individuals from amongst both parties who spread false rumours and ignited the flames of war.

In the 37th year after Hijrah, the Battle of Ṣiffῑn took place. 70, 000 combatants joined forces with Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, this included many Ṣaḥābah and many Tabi’ūn. This war between Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu continued for a period of 4-5 years.[57]

After this, Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was martyred in a coordinated assassination which involved an attempt on Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s life as well.[58] After the demise of Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, his eldest son, Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, assumed the role of the caliph. Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had always been adamant in forming a peace pact and avoiding conflict. Although in the beginning the corrupt individuals surrounding him attempted to fuel the flames of hatred, Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu did not listen to them and in the 41st year after Hijrah, he handed over the caliphate to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu reciprocated this act of goodwill by providing Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu with a yearly maintenance of 100,000 dirhams.[59]

“I swear by Allah, [Ḥadhrat] Ḥasan [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] faced [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] with an army the size of a mountain. So [Ḥadhrat] ‘Amr ibnul ‘Ās [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] said “surely I see two armies which shall not leave except that a huge war shall occur”, [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] said “Tell me! If this army kills that army and that army kills this army, then who will look after the affairs of the Muslims? Who will take care of the Muslim women? And who will look after the wealth of the Muslims and the orphans?”[60]

We can see from this incident the worry and concern that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had for the Muslims and the disdain that he had for inner-quarrelling between the Muslims.

Apart from this, ‘Allāmah Ibn Khaldūn Raḥimahullah (d.808 AH) narrates that when Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu decided to form a peace agreement with Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, he sent a white piece of paper with his stamp at the bottom of the paper. He told the messenger to tell Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu to add onto the paper whatever conditions he felt appropriate.[61] So, Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu added a few conditions onto the paper and in the 41st year after Hijrah, a peace treaty was formed between Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and the Muslims unanimously pledged their allegiance to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu as the caliph. In the history of Islām, this year is referred to as ‘the year of the group’ (عام الجماعة) as a remembrance that this was the year in which the Muslims who had been divided for many years, once again became one, and once again the Ummah pledged their allegiance to one caliph.[62]

Ḥāfidh Ibn Kathῑr Raḥimahullah (d.774 AH) narrates that when Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu returned to Madinah, an individual began to insult him due to the peace treaty that he had formed with Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Ḥadhrat Ḥasan Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu responded:

“Do not say that, for surely I heard the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam say “the coming of the day and night will not stop until [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] will become the leader. I knew that Allah’s will would occur and therefore, I did not prefer that the blood of the Muslims is spilt between me and him”[63]

After Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu became the leader of the believers, the tradition of the noble war (Jihād) that had halted since the time of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was resumed. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu continued his campaign against the Byzantine Empire and fought 16 wars against them.[64] In fact, he made two factions to his army, one that would fight in the summer and one that would fight in the winter.[65] Such was his desire to conquer the Byzantine Empire that his final bequest was:

In the 49th year after Hijrah, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu prepared a mighty army to attack Constantinople, with the leader of the army being Sufyān ibn ‘Awf. Many illustrious Ṣaḥābah participated in this war and this was the war that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam had prophesised in his life and said regarding its participants:

أَوَّلُ جَيْشٍ يَغْزُو الْقُسْطُنْطِيْنِيَةَ مَغْفُوْرٌ لَهُمْ

“The first army to fight Constantinople will have their sins forgiven”[67]

It was during Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s caliphate that the Muslims laid siege to the prized island of Sicily and gained a huge amount of wealth as booty. It was also during Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s caliphate that the area between Sijistan and Kabul and the entire land of Sudan were conquered.

I will present a summarised timetable of the various wars that occurred during the caliphate of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and all the lands conquered in the process. This is with exception to the lands that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had already conquered during the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and Hadhrat Uthman Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu as the governor of Shām.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was handsome looking man. He was of white complexion and his face expressed the qualities of kindness and forbearance.[73]

Aslam, the freed slave Ḥadhrat Ibn ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu states:

قَدِمَ عَلَيْنَا مُعَاوِيَةُ وَهُوَ أَبْيَضُ النَّاسِ وَأَجْمَلُهُمْ

“Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu came to us and he was the most handsome and good-looking from the people”[74]

Along with this outer beauty, Allah had blessed Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu with immense personal qualities. Hence, he was an embodiment of justice, such that Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would say:

“You [people] praise the political ability of Caesar and Khosroes, even though you have [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] amongst you”.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu as a Leader

The strength of the Muslims increased under the rule of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Since the time of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, due to the unrest between the Muslims, the tradition of conquering lands had halted. Once the caliphate of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu began, this tradition gained new life. Since the time of Ḥadhrat ‘Uthmān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had prepared a navy for which he made ‘Abdullah ibn Qays the chief officer.

During his caliphate, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu advanced his naval force and created many bases near the coastal areas of Shām and Miṣr such that 1,700 ships would be ready to go to war. His naval commander was Junādah ibn Abi Umayyah. Through this magnificent naval force, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu managed to conquer Cyprus, Rhodes and other important Greek islands. It was also through his naval force that he attacked Constantinople.

A postal system for the millitary was already in place during the caliphate of Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, however, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu structured and integrated this department such that the entire kingdom could use a postal system. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu also created a new department by the name of Diwān Khātam (which ensured that high level security letters could not be tampered with).[75] Also, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu appointed servants to look after the Ka’bah and covered the Ka’bah with a beautiful cover made from silk.[76]

“And the people were unanimous in pledging their allegiance to him in the 41st year [after Hijrah] as mentioned, he remained the caliph from this year till the year of his death. [During this period] the noble war (Jihād) in the lands of the enemies continued, the booty continued to pour into the Baytul Māl from the various lands and the Muslims lived in peace, harmony, justice and mutual forgiveness”[77]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu paid great attention in being just and fulfilling the rights of others.

Mujāhid Raḥimahullah (d.102 AH) would say:

لَوْ رَأَيْتُمْ مُعَاوِيَةَ لَقُلْتُمْ هَذَا الْمَهْدِيُّ

“If you saw [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], then you would say “this is the Mahdῑ””[78]

“If you saw [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] or lived during his caliphate, you would have said that he is the Mahdῑ”[79]

Similarly, once during the gathering of Al A’mash Raḥimahullah, a discussion began over ‘Umar ibn ‘Abdil Azῑz, Al A’mash Raḥimahullah said:

“If you had lived during the caliphate of [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu], then you would have known”. The people asked: “[Are you referring to] his forbearance?” He replied: “No! I swear by Allah! [I am referring to] his justice and fairness”.[80]

It was due to these qualities that A’mash Raḥimahullah would remember Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu by the name:

الْمُصْحَفْ

“The book”

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s caliphate was considered a success from all perspectives. He kept the Muslims happy during this period and they lived a life of peace and serenity.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu put forward many systems to improve the services provided to the people. From amongst these systems that he put in place, one was that he made one individual responsible from each tribe to check whether a child had been born in his tribe and to check whether any guests had come to visit the tribe. If a child was born, this individual would write down the child’s name and an allowance would be allocated for the child from the Baytul Māl.[81]

Imām Bukhāri Raḥimahullah (d.256 AH) has mentioned in his book, Al Adab Al Mufrad, that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu ordered that the names of the thieves and criminals of each area be listed on a piece of paper. Other than this, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu opened up rivers, built mosques and made many other changes for the betterment of the Muslims. Due to these favours, the people loved Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and were prepared to give their lives for him.

“[Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]’s relationship with his people was that of the best of leaders, and his people loved him. It has been established in the two authentic books (Ṣaḥiḥ Al Bukhāri and Ṣaḥiḥ Muslim) from the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam that he said “the best of your leaders are the ones that you love and they love you and you send salutations upon them and they send salutations upon you”

It was for this reason that the people of Shām were ready to give their lives for him and would fulfil his commands with enthusiasm. Thus, Ḥadhrat ‘Alῑ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu once proclaimed to his army:

“How interesting is it that [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] calls completely ignorant people and they listen to him and follow him without any reward and once or twice in a year he takes the same people wherever he wants. However, I call you and even though you have intelligence and are given rewards, you still do not listen to me, stand up against me and continue to oppose me?!”

One of the reasons why the people of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu loved Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was that he considered a calamity upon even one individual as a calamity upon himself and he would go out of his way in alleviating the individual from his calamity. This may be understood from a short incident. Ḥadhrat Thābit Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, who was the freed slave of Ḥadhrat Sufyān Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, states that he participated in one the battles against the Byzantine Empire with Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. During the battle, a soldier fell off his ride and was unable to get up, he began to call for help. The first individual to assist him was none other than Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

Other than the general historians who have described these unique features of the caliphate of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, even the historians from the Shῑ’ah sect have been obliged to admit this. Hence, the Shi’ῑ’ historian, Amῑr ‘Alῑ, writes:

“Overall, [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]’s caliphate was in terms of inner relations, very pleasant and peaceful and from an outside perspective, it was very successful”.

The reason for this was that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would take a huge amount of interest in the on-goings between the general Muslims and would listen to their complaints attentively after which he would take measures to alleviate their problems.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Daily Routine

The famous historian, Al Mas’ūdῑ (d.346 AH) has captured the daily routine of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in great detail.

“Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would pray Fajr and then listen to all the reports that would reach him from the various Muslim lands. After this, he would pray the Qur’an and then go home to fulfil his duties. After performing Ishrāq Ṣalāh, he would leave his house and seek the counsel of specific people to discuss with them some of the important matters on his mind. After this, breakfast would be bought which would be the left-overs from the supper meal. Following breakfast, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would continue discussing matters with his advisors and would then go home. After a while, he would return to the Mosque and sit leaning upon the pulpit, at this moment, the general Muslims including the weak, the villagers, the children and the women would come to him and explain their needs and problems. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would listen to all of them, fulfil their needs and alleviate their problems. After Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had met all the people and he had fulfilled their needs, no one would be left and so Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would enter the Mosque and meet the respected and honoured members of the Muslim nation. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would say to them:

“Oh people! You are labelled the most honourable of people as you have the honour of sitting in this gathering. Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to mention the needs of those who are not present”

These people would mention the needs of various people and Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would fulfil these needs. He would then eat lunch and have his scribe with him, his scribe would grant admittance to those waiting outside the door one by one. The scribe would read aloud the writings of the various individuals who were granted admittance. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would continue eating and dictate to the scribe the rulings he should write. Whilst the admitted individual would be present, he would also be permitted to eat with Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. After this, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would go home and would return for the Ṣalāh of Ẓuhr.

After Ẓuhr Ṣalāh, a special meeting would occur between Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and his minsters in which they would discuss various political issues and form laws. This meeting would continue until the time of ‘Aṣr Ṣalāh. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would pray ‘Aṣr Ṣalāh and then remained engaged in various activities until ‘Ishā Ṣalāh. After ‘Ishā Ṣalāh, he would discuss various issues with his officials after which he would discuss matters of knowledge until late into the night”.

Al Mas’ūdῑ (d.346 AH)states that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had allocated five times during the day in which the people would have permission to visit him and present their problems.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had such forbearance that his forbearance had become an example to all. His name had become synonymous to the quality of forbearance such that thinking of the quality of forbearance would be incomplete without thinking of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.

At times, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s detractors would come to him and speak to him extremely harshly, yet Hadhrat Mu’awiyah Radhiyallahu Anhu would maintain a smile. It was this quality of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu that made tremendously powerful leaders as well as his detractors bow their heads before him.

Thus, Qabῑṣah ibn Jābir states:

وَصَحِبْتُ مُعَاوِيَةَ فَمَا رَأَيْتُ رَجُلاً أَحْلَمَ مِنْهُ

“I have been in the company of [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu] and I have not seen anyone with more patience than him”[83]

Ibn ‘Awn narrates that during the caliphate of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, an average man would stand up and would say to him: “Oh Mu’āwiyah! Be good to us or we will straighten you out!” Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would respond: “With what will you straighten me out?” The man would reply: “With this stick”. To this Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would say: “Right! Then I will become straight”.[84]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu responded: “No, tell me everything that you would say about me”. Upon his command, Ḥadhrat Miswar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu repeated all the things that he would say regarding Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu calmly listened to all the claims made by Ḥadhrat Miswar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and soon after, began answering each and every claim. This response of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had such an effect upon Ḥadhrat Miswar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu that Ḥadhrat Miswar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would not discuss Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu after this except with words of praise and blessings.[85]

The stories of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s patience have filled the books of history. People would come and complain to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, yet he would maintain patience and attend to their complaints. Not only would he remove the difficulties of the complainant, but he would give him gifts as a consolation. Due to this, people would leave his gathering having fallen in love with his conduct.

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu himself would say:

“The pleasure found in drinking away anger cannot be found in anything else”[86]

However, his patience and forbearance were upon the condition that the religion of Islām and the Muslim nation were not compromised. It was for this reason that at times, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would stand up for his principles and express displeasure if he felt that the religion of Islām or the Muslim nation were being compromised. He would say:

“Where my stick is sufficient, I do not use my sword. Where my tongue is sufficient, I do not use my stick”.[88]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Pardoning, Leniency and Good Character

Apart from the many other qualities that Allah Ta’āla had blessed Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu with, He also blessed him with good character and the immense quality of being able to easily pardon others. In this regard, we will mention an interesting story which will show the qualities of patience, forbearance, and obedience towards the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had.

Once, Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, who was the son of the king of Haḍramawt, came to the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam to accept the religion of Islam. He accepted Islām and stayed in the company of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam. When he was returning, he was accompanied by the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam who bought along Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was walking whilst Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu sat on a camel. Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was a prince and had only just entered Islam, he therefore did not want Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu to sit with him.

For a considerable distance, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu continued to walk in the daunting Arabian heat but when his feet began to boil due to the overwhelming heat, he turned to Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and asked: “Allow me to sit with you”. However, Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu still felt the prestige of a prince and so he replied: “How is possible for me to sit with you? You are not from amongst those people who can sit with kings”. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu pleaded: “Fine, just give me your shoes at least so that I can survive the blistering heat”. Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu denied this request and replied: “It is enough of an honour for you to walk on the rope of my camel which is touching the floor”.

The summary is that Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu did not let Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu sit with him on the camel and nor did he give him shoes so that he may avoid burning his feet. It is apparent that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu himself was of a high stature, he was the son of a leader of Quraish, however, out of respect for the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu did not make an objection and continued without a frown.

Nonetheless, a time came when Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu became the caliph and Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu presented himself before Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu recognised Ḥadhrat Wāil ibn Ḥujr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and the entire incident came before Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s eyes. However, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu honoured him and treated with an immense amount of respect. This incident shows the respectful and magnanimous character of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu.[89]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had a deep love and connection with the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam. Once, he found that there is a person in Baṣra who resembles the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu immediately wrote to the governor saying “send him to me immediately with respect and honour”. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu welcomed the individual, kissed him on his forehead and presented gifts to him.

It was due to this immense love for the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had kept safe the blessed finger nails, a cloth and the blessed hair of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam for which he made the bequest that the blessed hair be put in his nose, ears and on his eyes after his death.[90]

It was due to this immense love for the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu resembled the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam in many of his actions. Ḥadhrat Abū Dardā’ Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would say:

“I have not seen anyone’s Ṣalāh resemble the Ṣalāh of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam more your Imām i.e. [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu]”[92]

It was this love that made Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu accept the statements and actions of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam with an open heart.

Jabalah ibn Suhaim states that he once came to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu during his caliphate and found him with a rope around his neck which a child was pulling. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was playing with the child. Upon seeing this, Jabalah states that he said “oh leader of the believers! What are you doing?!”

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu replied:

“Be quiet! I have heard the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam say that when you are with a child, you should behave like the child as it will make the child happy”.[93]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Obedience

An example of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s obedience towards the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam may be understood from a narration found in Mishkātul Maṣābiḥ.

The narration states that a peace treaty had occurred between Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and the Byzantine Empire. During the period of the peace treaty, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu began gathering his troops on the borders of the Byzantine Empire. The intention being that as soon as the peace treaty ends, an attack would immediately be launched upon the Byzantine Empire, this would create confusion amongst the Byzantine commanders as they would be baffled as to how the Muslims managed to reach them so quickly, and so they would be ill-prepared to fight allowing the Muslims an easy victory.

When the peace treaty came to an end, the Muslims attacked the land of the Byzantine Empire, shocked at how the Muslims had managed to attack them so quickly, the Byzantime army did not manage to respond to the Muslims and the land fell into the hands of the Muslims. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was moving ahead after conquering this land when suddenly, Ḥadhrat ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu came to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and shouted:

“I heard the Messenger of Allah Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam say “when one has made a covenant with a people, he must not strengthen or loosen it till its term comes to an end or he brings it to an end in agreement with them (to make both the parties equal).”[94]

Ḥadhrat ‘Amr ibn ‘Abasah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was intending that just as it is impermissible to attack during the days of a peace treaty, it is impermissible to prepare for an attack during the days of a peace treaty.

As soon as Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu heard this command of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam, he immediately ordered his army to return and so, the entire army left the land that they had conquered. There is only a possibility that such obedience be found elsewhere that in the midst of conquering a land, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu ordered his troops to retreat due to a single statement of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam.

“If Allah puts anyone in the position of authority over the affairs of the Muslims, and he secludes himself (from them), not fulfilling their needs, wants, and their destitution, Allah will keep Himself away from him, not fulfilling his need, want and destitution.””

Upon hearing this, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu immediately stood up and ordered that a person be appointed to continuously present the needs of the people to him.[95]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Fear of Allah Ta’ala

We have found many stories which show the fear that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had for Allah Ta’ala. He would always fear the punishment of the day of judgement and would cry profusely when the punishments of the hereafter were mentioned.

Ḥāfidh Al Thahabi Raḥimahullah (d.748 AH) reports in his book on history that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu once came to a Mosque in Damascus for the sermon (Khutbah) of Jumu’ah and said:

“All wealth is ours and all the booty gained from war is ours, we shall give it to whom he want and deprive it from whom we want”

After saying this, nobody gave him an answer and the matter was left at that. When the next Jumu’ah came, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu repeated these words in his sermon (Khutbah), again, nobody said anything. When the third Jumu’ah came, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu repeated these words in his sermon (Khutbah), immediately a person stood up and shouted:

“No chance! All wealth is ours and all the booty gained from war is ours, whoever comes between us and our wealth, we will send his matter to Allah using our swords”.

Upon hearing this, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu came down the pulpit and beckoned the man to follow him inside a room. The people became suspicious and so Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu asked for the doors of the room to be opened and for the people to come in. When the people came in, they saw Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu sitting next to the man, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu then said:

“May Allah grant this person a long life! This person has given me life! I had heard the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam say:

“There will be leaders after me who will say wrong and nobody will rebuke them, such leaders shall go to hell.”

So when I made this statement in the first Jumu’ah and nobody said anything, I became worried that I may be one of those leaders [that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam had described], then the second Jumu’ah took place and again the same thing occurred, so I became even more worried. Then, when the third Jumu’ah came and this individual rebuked me, I felt relieved and confident that I am not from amongst those leaders [that the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam had described].”[96]

The detractors of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu have worked very hard to create the impression that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was an egocentric person, whereas the reality is the opposite of this.

Ḥadhrat Abū Mijlaz Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu narrates that once Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu had to visit a group of people. As he came to visit the group of people, the people began to stand up for him, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu disliked this and said:

“Do not do this! For I have heard the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam say: “Whosoever wishes that people stand up for him should prepare his seat in the hellfire”.[97]

“I saw Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in the markets of Damascus wearing a cloth that had patches on it and he was strolling in the markets of Damascus in this state”[98]

Similarly, people once saw Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu give a sermon (Khutbah) in Damascus wearing a cloth that had patches on it.[99]

This was Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s inner simplicity and self-sufficiency. However, during his time as the governor of Shām, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu would at times wear elegant clothes with the intention of giving the non-Muslims an impression that the Muslims are well-equipped. At the beginning, Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu did not prefer this display of elegancy, however Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu responded:

“Oh leader of the believers! We are in such a place where very many spies of the enemy are all around us, therefore, in order to create fear in their hearts, we should display this outward elegancy. This is a method through which we can give Islam and the Muslims their due respect as well as strike fear into the hearts of the enemy. However, if you command me [to do something], I shall do it and if you prohibit me [from something], I shall refrain from it”

“Oh leader of the believers! Look at how he has saved himself from accusation in the best of ways”.

Ḥadhrat ‘Umar Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu replied:

مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ جَشَّمْنَاهُ مَا جَشَّمْنَاهُ

“This is why I have placed this great responsibility upon his shoulders”.[100]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Knowledge and Understanding

Allah Ta’āla had blessed Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu an abundance of knowledge and a complete understanding of Shari’ah. ‘Allāmah Ibn Ḥazm Raḥimahullah (d.456 AH) states that he was considered one of those Ṣaḥābah who were worthy of giving a Fatwā.[101] Hence, Ḥāfidh Ibn Ḥajar Rahimahullah (d.852 AH) has also considered Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu in the middle category of Ṣaḥābah who used to issue Fatāwā.[102]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu has 163 Aḥādῑth from the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam.[103] The individuals who have narrated Aḥādith from the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam include[104]:

1) Ḥadhrat Ibn ‘Abbās Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu

2) Ḥadhrat Anas ibn Mālik Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu

3) Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah ibn Ḥudayj Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu

4) Ḥadhrat ‘Abdullah ibn Zubayr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu

5) Ḥadhrat Sa’ib ibn Yazῑd Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu

6) Ḥadhrat Nu’mān ibn Bashῑr Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu

7) Sa’ῑd ibn Al Musayyib Raḥimahullah

8) Muḥammad ibn Sῑrῑn Raḥimahullah

9) ‘Alqamah ibn Waqqās Raḥimahullah

10) Abū Idris Al Khawlāni Raḥimahullah

11) Aṭiya ibn Qays Raḥimahullah

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was well-known for his sermons. Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu also made an effort to begin a compilation of Islamic history. He asked ‘Ubayd ibn Shurayyah to gather the stories and incidents of the past, the biographies of the various kings and the roots of each language.[105]

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Humour

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu was a very jocular and jovial individual. A person of even the lowest stature would not feel afraid to meet him and would feel free to ask for anything from him.

Once, an individual came to Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu and said:

“I am building a house, please assist me in this and give me 12,000 planks of wood”

“Why would it not come? And I constantly see an ignorant man over me who throws various types of accusations towards me and demands that I answer him. If I answer correctly, I am not commended in any way, but if I make a slight error in my answer, it is spread all over the world”[107]

In the 60th year after Hijrah, he had reached the age of 78.

It was during this final illness that Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu made his final sermon. His final sermon included the following words:

“Oh people! Surely there are some crops that have reached their time of harvesting. Surely, I was your leader, a better leader will not come after me, and whoever leads after me shall be worse than me just as those who led before me were better than me. Oh Yazid! When my time comes, instruct an intelligent and understanding man to perform my ghusl for an intelligent person has a [high] status by Allah. So, he should perform ghusl properly and should recite the takbir loudly. Then, go to a hankerchief found in my treasures, in it there is a cloth from the clothes of the Prophet Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam and [in it] there is a small bundle of his [Ṣallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam] hair and nails. Put the hair in my nose, mouth, ears and upon my eyes and put the cloth next to my body upon my kafan. Oh Yazid! Respect the command of Allah with regards to your parents! When you have put me in my kafan and have lowered me in my grave, then leave Mu’āwiyah with the Most Merciful of Merciful Ones”

After making this bequest, Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s health deteriorated further. Eventually, during the month of Rajab, 60 years after the Hijrah, in the city of Damascus[108], this star of knowledge, forbearance and wisdom went out forever.

إِنَّا لِلهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُوْنَ

“Surely we belong to Allah and surely to Him is our return”

Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu’s Janazah Salah was led by Ḍaḥāk ibn Qays (d.72 AH) and he was buried in Damascus.[109] At the time of his death, he was 78 years old.[110]

‘Allāmah Ibn Al Athῑr Raḥimahullah (d.630 AH) narrates that once ‘Abdul Malik ibn Marwān (d.86 AH) was passing by the grave of Ḥadhrat Mu’āwiyah Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu, he stopped at the grave, stood by, and began making du’a. A person passing by asked “whose grave is this?”

“This is the grave of the person who, I swear by Allah, when he would speak, he would speak with knowledge and wisdom, and when he would stay silent, he would stay silent with patience and forbearance, whomsoever he gave to he made rich and whomsoever he fought he destroyed. Time gave to him quickly that which it gave to others very slowely, from those who came after him. This is the grave of Abū Abir Raḥmān; [Ḥadhrat] Mu’āwiyah [Radhiyallāhu ‘Anhu].”[111]

“Allah, Allah! Fear Him with regard to my Companions! Do not make them targets after me. Whoever loves them loves them with his love for me; and whoever hates them hates them with his hatred for me. Whoever bears enmity for them bears enmity for me; and whoever bears enmity for me, bears enmity for Allah. Whoever bears enmity for Allah is about to be seized”

Answer

This Hadith has been declared sound (hasan gharib) by Imam Tirmidhi (rahimahullah) and authentic (sahih) by Imam Ibn Hibban (rahimahullah).

(1) If I pray my missed make up salat during tahajud salat time, then will I get the reward of tahajud salat as well, since I am praying at that time ?

(2) Likewise, if i pray my missed make up salat at salatul duha time, then will I get the reward of duha salat as well, since I am praying at that time.

In this type of cases, do I need to make dual intention or what? I feel that I am losing the reward of the Nafl Salaah.

You will not get the reward for the Nafl Salaah while performing the Fardh Qadha. The Fardh stands on its own and does not take a dual intention. Dual/multiple intentions can be made for Nafl, not Fardh.

What you will get is the reward for Fardh which is far, far superior to the reward of Nafl. The performance of the Fardh is the means to your salvation and the key that will open Jannah.

The Nafl is similar to the garnishing of a food and the Fardh is the food itself. The garnishing adds flavour and beauty to the food but if the food is missing, then the garnishing loses its point.

Hence, do not feel that you are losing out by not performing the Nafl. Devote your time to the completion of your Qadha Salaah which is your obligation and which nets the greatest reward. Once the Fardh is taken care of, you may then “garnish” your Fardh with the Nafl.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

(The answer hereby given is specifically based on the question asked and should be read together with the question asked. Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh unless otherwise stated.)

Sayyiduna Jaabir Radhiyallahu Anhu narrates that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam cursed the one who consumes riba (usury) and the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and the two who witness it, and he said, “they are all the same.” (Sahih Muslim)

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Question and Answer:

Please provide the reason of why interest is haraam

Interest is prohibited by divine decree. Allah Ta’ala states, “O you who believe, fear Allah and give up what remains [due to you] of interest, if you are indeed believers. But if you fail to do so, then be warned of war from Allah and His Messenger. If you repent, you have the right of the return of your capital; neither will you do wrong nor will you be wronged.” (Quran 2:279)

In light of the Divine Decree, no further reasoning is required. A Muslim’s response when informed of the decree of Allah and his Rasool Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam is, “Sami’naa wa Ataa’na (We hear and we obey)”.

From the logical point of view, one of the primary wisdoms behind the prohibition of interest is to prevent the economic exploitation. This exploitation is the subject of many chapters. It is experienced on both micro and macro levels between individuals chained to the banks with student loans, car loans and home loans and countries chained to world banks and monetary funds with billions and trillions in debt. The system of interest allows for such exploitation that in many cases it is impossible to free oneself from its chains.

The following excerpt from Stats SA’s website exhibits the horrific reality of the interest system: “South Africa’s gross loan debt stood at R2,2 trillion in 2016/17, according to the National Treasury. This translates to about R40 000 per person living in the country. Servicing this level of debt can be expensive. [a gross understatement – author]

Interest payments accounted for 9,2% (or R146 billion) of general government expenditure (R1,58 trillion) in 2016/17. In other words, for every R100 of total spending, R9,20 was used to pay interest on debt. This is more than what was spent on the hospital (R105 billion), tertiary education (R77 billion) and housing (R69 billion) functions during that period.” (http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=11983)

Through interest, entire countries and their citizens are kept perpetually chained to the ultra-rich. Slavery is of many kinds. While we may have largely done away with physical slavery, financial slavery continues to flourish without hindrance and the primary force behind it is the institution of interest. It is the citizens of the country who through taxation are forced to bear the yoke of this slavery.

One of the evils most detested by Allah is Zulm (oppression). The system of interest allows for such Zulm that hardly anyone on the globe is spared from its oppressive clutches. It, therefore, follows why the prohibition against interest is so severe and why it is described in the Quran as“War with Allah and his Rasool Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam”.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Moosa Salie

(The answer hereby given is specifically based on the question asked and should be read together with the question asked. Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh unless otherwise stated.)

Sayyiduna Thawbaan Radhiyallahu Anhu reports that Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said: “Whichever woman seeks a divorce from her husband without any harm (cause/reason), then the scent of Paradise will be unlawful for her.”(Tirmidhi)

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Question and Answer:

As Salaam u alaikum, I have been having some issues with my wife and she filed for Khula. I was summoned for a meeting and did not agree with the Molana who was present and decided to leave the meeting room. the Molana had advised my wife to sit for Idat as he would be granting Khula which I have not agreed. So she sat for Idat and not advised that she is a free woman. I need to find out,1) If I did not agree the Khula, can they issue it
2) If they issued it, am I not entitled to receive a copy of the Khula.

Please advise me as I am don’t know much about these things.

Jazakallah

(Question published as received)

Khula refers to the wife returning the Mahr to the husband in exchange of the husband issuing a divorce to the wife. For the Khula to be valid, the husbands consent and approval of a Khula in exchange of a divorce to the wife is necessary. Hence, if you have not consented to the Khula, the Khula will not be effective and your marriage will remain intact.

We advise you and other couples to seek advice and counsel from reliable and reputable Ulama/Ulama Bodies for all aspects of life especially in such sensitive issues.

And Allah Ta’ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

(The answer hereby given is specifically based on the question asked and should be read together with the question asked. Islamic rulings on this Q&A newsletter are answered in accordance to the Hanafi Fiqh.)